Bessie Lamb Explained

Bessie Lamb (1879  - October 30, 1907) was an American vaudeville performer.

She grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, and started performing on stage at an early age. In 1895 she was described as a "pretty little child danseuse and singer",^[1] and in 1901 as a "capital singer of coon songs".^[2] She is credited with having introduced ragtime music to vaudeville, in her performances in Cincinnati.^[3] A newspaper obituary said: "Her wonderful mimicry and singing established her reputation, and she subsequently went on the road, being prominently identified with the Reilly & Woods' and Hurtig & Seamon's shows for a number of seasons."^[4]

She died in Cincinnati in 1907, aged about 28, after several months of illness.^[4]

Notes and References

1. https://cincinnati.newspapers.com/article/the-cincinnati-enquirer-the-cincinnati-e/51547929/ "Kohn and Middleton's", The Cincinnati Enquirer, September 15, 1895, p.19
2. https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/?a=d&d=NYC19010615.2.33&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN---------- "Keith's Theatre", New York Clipper, June 15, 1901, p.344
3. Anthony Slide, "Bessie Lamb", The Encyclopedia of Vaudeville, University Press of Mississippi, 2012, p.295
4. https://archive.org/stream/variety08-1907-11/variety08-1907-11_djvu.txt "Bessie Lamb Dies", Variety, November 8, 1907